Themes: friendship, egotism, love, death, life, the concept and passing of time.
I almost felt Menma was an analogy to god in the sense of her unrequited love, which was compared with the "selfish" love of the other members: mere human beings. Each one of them realises their own human weaknesses and accepts them, not without bitter tears. Another problem is what it means to grow up, to move along with time: this is amply explored with flashbacks, comparing the members to their former selves, and their inability to keep up with the society around them. I found Yukiatsu is a special case: often the people who seem to care least of all care the most.
And of course, the theme of human relationships, explored with the complexity of what I can only call a "love chain", rather than a simple love triangle (augmented by the character's perceived relation to each other, the "hierarchy" of the super peace busters, which could serve as a whole separate topic.)
Another interesting mention: Yadomi was the official leader, yet Menma seemed to be the glue that kept them all together: with her disappearance the community drifted apart, and came back together with her reappearance. This is all completely opposite to the consequences planned for by the female members (another interesting theme lies within the special role of the female characters of the anime, after all, there's a reason why the ending features specifically them; however, this would take more time and consideration to discuss) of the group, where each hoped to end up with the guys they liked. This also has a similar ring to the "be careful what you wish for" concept, which is again alluded to by the concept of Menma's wish-granting in general, and the idea that maybe selfish wishes are precisely the ones that we should be wary of. However, although at first Menma is perceived to be the main component of the group, perhaps the point of the show was to show that every one of the living members was also just as irreplaceable. I can't help but think that similar events would have happened if the one to die was Poppo, or Yukiatsu: after all, where would they be without the qualities each of them offered, Poppo's funny side, or Yukiatsu's "coolness" (Not to mention this was all implied in Menma's last messages to the group members)? Although I admit that Menma definitely had something more special than them, rather than being "part" of the glue that kept them together, just like everyone else, it was also her innate skill, and job within the group to act as that glue.
In any case, there is definitely much more to this work than simply dealing with the death of a person close to you.

Rewatch

What right does that little bitch have to decide the meaning of the existence of other peoples' creations? He doesn't know his place. Everything that happened is thanks to Rozen. Rozen's dolls changed his life completely. Has Jun changed that many things? Nope. All his actions and moralistic sermons simply delayed the inevitable. Except it also meant that Shinku lost, instead of winning and ending the Alice game. In trying to stop the progress of what is pretty much someone else's will, which he had absolutely nothing to do with, all he did was extend it. At least he paid the price, somewhat.
And what the hell was up with that ending? Rozen's student? Is this a joke? Oh, the whole anime was centered on the Alice game and themes of love, duty, religion, social darwinism, fate, choice, existentialism, values, love, strength, and the mental struggle among all of those, but it turns out it was all meaningless. Because of the addition of someone who happens to look exactly Rozen, and, managing to fool his creations, wants to fuck everything up. The whole series of events was as shallow as a puddle of piss on a summer's day. Last 4 minutes: "Oh hello, there. I'm the real Rozen and here are all the Rosa Mystica with me. I could easily merge them all into the Alice that I have desired for centuries, but instead I'll fix everything back to the way it was and start it all again! I hope my foolish pupil hasn't caused you any trouble!
And sorry, but I forgot to tell you all those centuries ago when I created you: you don't have to brutally kill each other to become Alice! See you in season fucking three, which nobody will ever make!"

And don't even get me started on that fucking rabbit. What was the purpose? I'm sure the manga has a very satisfactory answer. Not that it's projected in the anime. The only purpose I saw was a play on the concept of "Alice in Wonderland", and a really annoying manner of speaking.
But I have to say, I did not expect the doll shop assistant to be it. So bonus points for the unpredictability.

Moral of the story: Learn to END your anime's plotline, and not fuck around with the viewer's time. Rozen's fucking student. Give me a fucking break.

PS. Contradiction: None of the Rozen Maiden seems to notice anything strange with there being 7 dolls. Some of them even seem to remember Bara Suishou. Except she's NOT one of them. They're not supposed to know her. Especially as they definitely had no idea who this student person was. They are at least supposed to know how many of them there are. But no. And considering everything else I've said, I'm not surprised.

There are two types of anime series: ones that tell a story, and ones that create an atmosphere. SAO belongs to the far superior second type: not just a linear progression of events and character-developing conversations, but a vibrant, beautiful world of limitless and mind-blowing magnitude. More important is not how grand the virtual worlds of Alfheim and SAO actually are, but how the series manages to use a magically harmonious combination of wonderful design, visuals, musical scores and characters to create the illusion of their magnitude and reality.
SAO, the series itself, is one enormous 25-episode stretch in the NerveGear. The world of SAO and its virtual peers is cliche, but a good type of cliche: one that you feel comfortable, reassured and familiar within, like a Christmas tree on Christmas eve. I'm using this allusion specifically because I'm reminded of Kirito's fight with Nicholas the Renegade on Christmas eve. The conversation with the information broker, the atmosphere of the snowy town, meetings with old comrades: these elements were all marvellously joined to create a deep emotional response within the viewer.

Perhaps paradoxically, that is also the reason why certain elements in the story, and indeed, the ending itself, somewhat disconcerted me. Despite my praise and respect for an atmosphere capable of inducing deep emotion, that is not all that I expect from a good series. Just as important is the moral of the story: the ethical and philosophical lessons we can interpret from it. And SAO's interpretation of this lesson affects its story in several, perhaps negative ways.
Kirito, Asuna, and everyone else spent 2 years fighting a battle to the death within an enormous, locked-down virtual world. The goal of the game was to survive and escape. That was the utmost priority of every single player within the game. In striving towards that goal, the players realised their collective responsibility towards one another, realised the value and power of their in-game relationships and choices. They forged bonds, suffered losses and found love within the magnificent environments created by the genius Kayaba.
An escape from this world was granted almost by miracle chance, an opportunity given by Heathcliff to the observant and sagacious Kirito after only 75% completion of the game. Utilising this opportunity took yet another miracle, this time one that surpassed the farthest expectations of the genius himself.
2 years within that world were possibly only a fraction of what was originally planned by Kayaba.
Surely everyone had learned the moral after that? What was proven by Kirito was the immutability of the human condition and the human will under any circumstances, even within a virtual environment. What was shown was the ability of human relationships and human mind to transcend all obstacles, even when under total control of a machine. And yet it seems that even after all that, Neo and the others yearn to return to their reconstructed Matrix, this time in unfathomable proportions.

To be honest, I was mentally and emotionally exhausted after finishing SAO. I spent two days non-stop watching the adventures of Kirito and I'm already exhausted. Kirito experienced not two days, but 2 YEARS of this. After which he went another week within an entirely new SECOND world, rescuing Asuna. He's sacrificed 2 years of his life (spent under heavy stress) in order to understand an important lesson and find an important person.
So why, why, why on earth would he EVER want to go back? It honestly baffles me. 2 days of watching this series, and I wouldn't dream of watching it again for quite a while now. 2 years for Kirito and Asuna, both under constant threat of fatal danger, and they're back in a flash. I just don't understand it. If I were Kirito, I'd probably throw out my Nerve gear and get back to normal, healthy, outdoor life with Asuna. I'd live happily and safely ever after without any MMOs, savouring the important lessons I'd learnt from the hell I'd been through.
Perhaps I'm missing some important element of the contemporary Japanese mindset to understand this, or maybe I'm just a shitty psychologist.

And also, making the Seed open-source? Isn't that a little dangerous? Didn't Agil have little alarm-bells going in his head after remembering what unmonitored control over the Full Dive system could do? Seriously, making it totally accessible to any private or corporate body? Honestly?

In any case, I just find it hard to believe Kirito would return to a virtual world of almost unlimited size after all that, even if he can log out any time. I find it difficult to believe he would have the mental strength or energy left to start clearing floors in Ainclad all over again. I'm exhausted just imagining it. He's planning to re-do every single thing he did in two years, and almost an infinite amount more. Within a former prison, no less.

And this leads me to another point of my review-turned-rant. SAO, for me, was a 10/10 series until episode 12 or so. I'll get straight to the point with this: I think they took the whole KiritoxAsunaxYui thing WAAAY too far in this series. I understand their romantic involvement is central to the story and it can't be reduced to a secondary element, but honestly, they spent two episodes lazing about doing nothing in that village. It was practically filler for no reason at all. I will admit that the exploration of their marital relationship within the VR was an endearing and somewhat fresh concept, but I think they could have done it more efficiently.
The same goes for Yui: she too, is a central element to the story, and therefore cannot be reduced to a rudimentary supporting character, but even so, the child-parent relationship between a quasi-sentient AI program and a teenage couple is too much for me. Yes, I'm conservative and boring like that. It honestly creeped me out. I mean, the guy's 16 and he's pretending to be a father while trapped in a video game? Isn't that counter-productive to the series' moral message? They call her their "first child" (which is creepy as fuck in itself), but she's not even human. She even told them she merely simulates human thought patterns and emotions. And she's not even THEIR child: her "real father" is Kayaba himself.
I'll say it again: the point of playing SAO was to ensure the survival and escape of as many people as possible. The lesson that Kirito showed us was the superiority of the human mind and will to all its obstacles. Humans were to be shown as something special and independent within a virtual world. And yet that whole message is destroyed by the fact that an AI is treated like a real human child by the series' main protagonists. That perplexes me.

But anyway, now that I've cleared my mind of all the negatives, SAO is a one of a kind series. I don't think it will be easy to recreate the atmospheric magnitude and depth of such a series in the near future. It kind of reminds of Spice and Wolf: that was very close to SAO in terms of its atmosphere and another anime that moved me a lot.

I was pleasantly surprised by the first episodes being actual "episodes" in the traditional sense of the word. I was expecting SAO to be a linear story, but the format they used here, with every episode showing a meeting with a certain character at various, unconnected points in the story, worked very well indeed to further solidify and develop the mental image of an enormous fantasy realm. That ended at episode 13/14 or so, and on the whole, this midway switch makes the series feel a little disjointed. I think they could have done well continuing the original format a little more, but I guess it is what it is and it works just as well.

But the series' depth does not stop at the magnificence of the imaginary fantasy land. The final "battle" scene with Sugou at the car park, and its comparison to the in-game final battle was simple, yet sharp (no pun intended) and a very effective narrative tool. The in-game fantasy had constant reminders of the world outside and its own artificial nature by means of in-game menus, stats and HP bars. The series did well to feature and explore the technical elements of the Full Dive system in what I would call an enchanting and fulfilling thought experiment (an especially clever surprise was the episode featuring the crime investigation). Episodes like these remind the viewer of the limitations of the in-game world and constantly remind one of the existence of the outside world, the top goal and priority of every player, adding more layers to the already deep narrative.

The scenes illustrating Asuna's captivity and exploitation by Sugou, her loyalty to Kirito, were also very powerful in their own right, and regardless of what I have said about her relationship with Kirito, it is a very beautiful one. The way the strong and noble wills of these two individuals are juxtaposed to their powerful avatars adds to the story's dynamism. The way this mental strength was expressed in the form of their in-game superiority to other players was an interesting point to consider.

All in all, I would rate SAO 9/10 based purely on its atmosphere and originality, but I deduct one point for its... mixed concluding messages. It's basically a crossover of Spy Kids 3D and The Matrix.

8/10

Logic
Detective
Many worlds, tied together with a set of relationships, characters, and events. The hub is the circular room. Secondary premise: series of mysterious murders of members of the Ushiromiya family on an island in 1986.
Main premise: A "game" between two groups, the leaders of which are bored witches:
concept of eternity, omnipotence, boredom, and the consequences. Resulting change of world view- moralistic tale. 4 "rounds" of the game, played out in different ways with the same premise. Witch's power allows creation of these games in parallel worlds, all from a "hub" on a higher plane, from which all can be accessed and manipulated. "pieces" and "moves"- either circumstances of characters can also be introduced and manipulated by witches on both sides to their advantage.
These worlds, partly by the actions and power of the witches, are tied together and often interact. In addition to parallel 1986 incidents, the outside of the board is also introduced, as well as introduction of past and future events: shannon's mirror. Berkanstel's meddling with Ange: happens "outside", yet is tied to the events on the board, again tying the incidents (multiple bottles from different rounds all meet in the future)
Red side: Beatrice (creator and host of the game, independent and in control within the world, but cannot be recognised (and therefore not a real witch) until Battler gives up), Lambdadelta (independent), Beatrice's "furnitures".
Blue side: Battler (challenger to the game), Berkanstel (independent, originally "observer", but "bets" on Battler ), Ange ("invited" by Berkanstel), Virgilia (teacher to Beatrice, original holder of name)
What matters most is Battler's aknowledgment, regardless of what actually happens. The possibilty is superior to "truth" (which is subjective, thus the possibility of "several" games at the same time. The fact that they happen like this proves the instability of reality- witch power is used against them)
concept/ definitions of "magic": different interpretations, strengths, weaknesses (beatrice's weakness is lack of acknowledgement from all concerned: Battler.). The last winner is "love" (Renove: "love is the main element"). The idea of "love" is also raised. Ties with "magic". What it means to be a real "witch"- impossible without love.
Acknowledgement, family and honour vs personal matters- dilemma. Forgiveness, punishment.
Physics and philosophy.
definition of "truth".
Concept of time and its insignificance/instability.
Fate
Paradox: denying "magic" with its help, and others.
consequentialism: is the land of gold worth all the deaths?
Multiple identities and derivative thoughtforms: "Beatrice".
Real world non-magic culprit, and survivor of incident- Eva. Ties with Beatrice- materialisation of suffering.
Concept of forgiveness, nature of suffering- (note: major theme in naruto- cycle of hatred. here it is expressed as a "line" of hatred, passed along with the ushiromiya bloodline- Eva, Rosa, MARIA)
Maria- major character. Originally seems guilty and a "freak", but has stopped the "Line of hatred". Acts as secondary foil to Battler from Beatrice, closest to her. At first falls under the influence of Beatrice's "black" magic, which lacks "love" and the power of "resurrection".

Witches' association- "Mariage Sorciere". Includes holders of the name "Beatrice" and "Endless Witches": Original Beatrice, Virgilia, Maria, Ange, Berkanstel, Lambdadelta, Eva "black witch" thoughtform. Ange: white witch.
"Endless magic: omnipotence and the power to escape fate" Obtained through "Understanding?"
Disbelief is a "toxin" to magical power- beatrice weakness. However, Ange's magic has "love" and is therefore independent- White vs Black ("endless")magic.
Ange: most powerful: combines human understanding and power of "love", which is inaccessible to endless witches who know not of suffering, and Witchpower, which is inaccessible to humans without training and affinity.
Key characters:

Beatrice
Battler
Maria
Ange
Eva

Concept of humanity, what it means to be truly human. again, power of love: Servants.
Kanon and Jessica
Shannon and George

Self-sacrifice
Parental relationships and familial duties vs individual rights:
Maria and Rosa (dysfunctional and true mother and daughter) vs Battler and Kyrie (parental love despite lack of blood relationship)
Envy- tied to line of suffering.

Berkanstel is totally cute and awesome.

Downloaded Episodes: 3